More specifically, the request is for the name, address, date of birth, party affiliation, last four social security number digits, voting history back to 2006, felony convictions, overseas citizen information, military status, and so on, of every voter in their state. This trove of information is due by July 14.

The creation of the election integrity commission stems from Trump’s belief that there is a high level of voter fraud. His claim has been proven untrue, but the president and others stick to their talking points.

With that type and amount of information, the federal government can and will build a national database of individuals.

This is a problem because it centralizes information the government has about its citizens, which will enable officials to easily access data about any of us, at any time, for whatever reason.

There is a reason that the nation’s founders saw it important to have a separation of powers, not only among the federal branches of government but also between federal and state governments.

Here are a few concerns:

First, this request for voter information smells like the very old ways of the master to oppress those without power.

Branding and tagging in the United States, and other places, has historically been used to identify, count and track people the government deemed inferior human beings.

During the Holocaust, Jews in concentration camps immediately received identification numbers that were sewn to their prison uniforms. As the prisoners died, there was no way to identify them, so camp operators began tattooing the prisoners.

In the United States, masters branded and tagged their slaves as a way to show ownership. Trump’s request may seem more innocent than branding and tagging. However, an attempt to give the federal government access to the personal information of individuals not deemed dangerous or a threat to this country likens itself to a time when this country thought it important to keep track of its property.

Second, a national registry is highly vulnerable to hackers and cybercriminals. On more than one occasion, government computer systems have been compromised.

In 2015, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management announced a massive breach that compromised the personal data of over 21 million people. The federal government offered identity theft protection, but we still don’t know how many were actually victimized and to what extent.

Lastly, this attempt to create a national voter database can further enable voter suppression. Since the late 19th century, officials have employed various tactics to disenfranchise certain voters.

The data request is a natural offshoot of past tactics. Knowing enough about a person and their likely policy positions enables targeted voter suppression.

Trump is the first, but unlikely the last, to attempt to circumvent laws in this way to obtain information that would be serve his interests and the interests of his party.

So far, at least 15 states have refused to provide the information out of concern that the Trump administration has no way of keeping the information secure. However, keeping this information secure from creepy hackers might not be the only risk.

Continue reading In Honor Of President’s Day, Here Are Photos That Will Make You Miss Barack Obama

In Honor Of President's Day, Here Are Photos That Will Make You Miss Barack Obama

Today is President's Day and we had to take a moment to honor our favorite president -- Barack Obama.
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Obama had many wins while he was president. He brought the Black unemployment rate for African Americans from 16.8 percent, due to the horror of President George W. Bush to 7.8 percent by January 2017. The poverty rate for African Americans fell faster in 2015 than in any year since 1999 -- falling 2.1 percentage points, resulting in 700,000 fewer African Americans in poverty.
Teen pregnancy among Black women was at an historic low with he birth rate per 1,000 African-American teen females fell from 60.4 in 2008 to 34.9 in 2014. Pell Grant funding for HBCU students increased between 2007 and 2014, growing from $523 million to $824 million. Obama banned solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prison in January of 2016, the President of ACLU said about this in 2016, “It’s absolutely huge. We rarely have presidents take notice of prison conditions.” The incarceration rates for Black men and women fell during each year of the Obama Administration and were at their lowest points in over two decades when he left office.
Not to mention, he saved our country from one of the greatest recessions since the Great Depression due to the Republican administration before him -- and now our current president tries to take all the credit.
People are so happy his legacy that the people of Los Angeles were blessed to have President Barack H. Obama Highway as in December. The Mercury News reported, "Two large, green-and-white freeway signs were unveiled Thursday, one on the right shoulder of westbound State Route 134 at the beginning of the 210 Freeway at Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena, the other at the eastbound 134 in the vicinity of Route 2 in the city of Los Angeles near Glendale."
The location was chosen because he attended Occidental College in nearby Eagle Rock from 1979-1981 when he lived in Pasadena. State Sen. Anthony Portantino said about the highway, “The president has often mentioned his fond memories of living in Pasadena and attending Occidental College, so it was very appropriate to name the portion of the freeway he traveled after him."
Mercury News confirmed, "No taxpayer dollars were used to build or erect the signs, Bischoff confirmed, adding that the cost of the two signs and labor amounted to about $5,000 and were paid for by private donations."
In honor of President's Day, check out photos of our favorite president.